The Ashes 2025-26: Australia defeated England by 82 runs in the third Test to clinch the Ashes series. The home team now leads the five-match series 3-0. In the match played in Adelaide, Australia scored 371 runs in their first innings, thanks to a century from Alex Carey and a half-century from Usman Khawaja. In reply, England scored 286 runs in their first innings, giving Australia an 85-run lead. In their second innings, the Australian team scored 349 runs, powered by a magnificent 170-run knock from Travis Head, and set England a target of 435 runs. On the fifth day, England were bowled out for 352 runs in their second innings, suffering their third consecutive defeat.
Australia Playing-11: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
England Playing-11: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
In the third Test match played at the Adelaide Oval, Alex Carey scored a century in the Australian team's first innings, making 106 runs. His innings helped the Australian team reach a score of 371 in their first innings. Later, in the second innings, Travis Head scored 170 runs for the Australian team.
These two players played a crucial role in the Australian team's victory in the third Test. England, on the other hand, managed to score only 286 runs in their first innings and 352 runs in their second. In England's first innings, captain Ben Stokes scored 83 runs, while Jofra Archer contributed 51. In the second innings, Jack Crawley scored 85 runs, and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith added 60.
Meanwhile, for the Australian team, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon each took three wickets in the second innings. Scott Boland claimed one wicket. As a result, the English team was unable to chase down the target of 435 runs.
Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted it "got a little closer than [he] would have liked", but hailed his bowlers for their patience in toiling for four hours for their four wickets.
"I think it's when we're at our best this team," he said.
"You can't really rush things here in Australia. You kind of will it to happen but it doesn't really work that way. It's a good old-fashioned grind a lot of the time. I love the toil from all the guys today."
“We obviously came here with a goal in mind and we haven’t been able to achieve it. It hurts and it sucks,” said England skipper Stokes.
“They’ve been able to outdo us on a much higher level ... I thought we did incredibly well to take us where we did in this fourth innings.
“We couldn’t do what we came here to do but there was some good stuff to come out of this game.”
Australia's Last 4 Ashes Series at Home
Won 5-0 in 2013/14
Won 4-0 in 2017/18
Won 4-0 in 2021/22
Leading 3-0 with two Tests remaining in 2025/26.
